Crisis Point
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am?" So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jerimiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Matt. 16:13-16, NKJV.
With these verses we have come to what is in many ways the most critical episode in the life of Jesus. As William Barclay points out, it occurs at "the crisis of Jesus' life. Whatever His disciples might be thinking, He knew for certain that ahead there lay an inescapable cross. Things could not go on much longer. The opposition was gathering itself to strike. Now the problem and the question confronting Jesus was this--had He had any effect at all? Had He achieved anything? Or, to put it another way, had anyone discovered who He really was?"
The only way to find out was to ask those closest to Him, those who would soon, unbeknownst to them, take over His movement as true apostles. The question at this point was whether they had learned the basic thing they needed to know as disciples, since without the understanding that Jesus had sought to give them as disciples they could never be apostles.
Jesus really didn't care what others thought of Him, but He desperately needed to know the opinion of the disciples. He had reached the critical point of His ministry.
So He asked them the fundamental question that underlies everything: "Who do you say that I am?" Everything rode on their answer. With relief Jesus heard Peter respond, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." At that point He knew that He had not failed. The eyes of the disciples had at last opened.
But while they understood who Jesus was, they had no idea of what that meant. As a result, we find Jesus commanding the disciples that they should "tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ" (verse 20, NKJV). That seems like a strange command, but it was a necessary one, since Peter and the other disciples did not yet understand what His true office was. They still had the conquering-king perspective. And that is normal, since there is no evidence in pre-Christian times that any Jews thought of a suffering Messiah.
Sometimes we have just enough knowledge to be dangerous. Balanced understanding is crucial before we open our mouths too wide.
When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am?" So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jerimiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Matt. 16:13-16, NKJV.
With these verses we have come to what is in many ways the most critical episode in the life of Jesus. As William Barclay points out, it occurs at "the crisis of Jesus' life. Whatever His disciples might be thinking, He knew for certain that ahead there lay an inescapable cross. Things could not go on much longer. The opposition was gathering itself to strike. Now the problem and the question confronting Jesus was this--had He had any effect at all? Had He achieved anything? Or, to put it another way, had anyone discovered who He really was?"
The only way to find out was to ask those closest to Him, those who would soon, unbeknownst to them, take over His movement as true apostles. The question at this point was whether they had learned the basic thing they needed to know as disciples, since without the understanding that Jesus had sought to give them as disciples they could never be apostles.
Jesus really didn't care what others thought of Him, but He desperately needed to know the opinion of the disciples. He had reached the critical point of His ministry.
So He asked them the fundamental question that underlies everything: "Who do you say that I am?" Everything rode on their answer. With relief Jesus heard Peter respond, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." At that point He knew that He had not failed. The eyes of the disciples had at last opened.
But while they understood who Jesus was, they had no idea of what that meant. As a result, we find Jesus commanding the disciples that they should "tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ" (verse 20, NKJV). That seems like a strange command, but it was a necessary one, since Peter and the other disciples did not yet understand what His true office was. They still had the conquering-king perspective. And that is normal, since there is no evidence in pre-Christian times that any Jews thought of a suffering Messiah.
Sometimes we have just enough knowledge to be dangerous. Balanced understanding is crucial before we open our mouths too wide.
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